'Hobbit' May Go 3D, 'Tron' Going to be Super Big on IMAX

The 3D and IMAX train keeps on a'rollin.' When will it stop? Beats me. I'm going to say, oh, about 2013. Unless the world ends in 2012 and then we'll have bigger things to worry about than $15 ticket prices.

Two new reports on the future of cinema today, but I'm combining them into one article for your reading pleasure (and because I'm not sure if they're all that interesting separate, but together, you have a tasty morsel of movie news).

The first is that Guillermo Del Toro's soon-to-begin-production (I hope and think) The Hobbit may very well go 3D. Awhile back, Mr. Del Toro clearly and plainly stated that there were no discussions about The Hobbit going 3D and that if there ever were, he'd make sure we knew right away. Avatar came, saw and conquered and Del Toro is a man of his word. You can read his original posting over at The One Ring or you can be like me and check out Coming Soon, which places all of this in a more helpful context.

The second bit of today's "Movie-Going Experience of the Future!" news comes from /Film, where they confirm that Tron Legacy will pull a Dark Knight and have five sequences shot exclusively for IMAX. If you've seen a movie in IMAX before, you know (or at least should know) that the IMAX screen is shaped for a 1.7:1 ratio while most movies are shot in 2.35:1 or 1.85:1 these days. This results in black bars at the top and bottom of the screen. If you saw The Dark Knight in IMAX, you surely remember how the entire screen was suddenly filled for key action scenes and shots. I remember because it was dizzying, disorienting and amazing. I'll let you follow that link for the technical details and I'll just say "Cool! Big pictures!"

I'm not quite sold on 3D but I am sold on IMAX, so I'm going to call this a mixed bag of goodies. If Del Toro does pursue 3D (or if he's forced into it), I hope they shoot in 3D and don't convert in post. That will mean the difference between crystal clear, Avatar 3D and washed out, blurry, migraine-inducing 3D. As for the guys on Tron Legacy...let's see that trailer already!